Charter school cap ought to be lifted

Tuesday

To The Editor: With 30,000 students now enrolled in charter schools (K through 12), North Carolina taxpayers have saved $500 million in school construction costs.

You see, charter schools must build their own buildings while the public school systems use tax revenues to build new schools at $10 million-plus a copy.

Charter schools are public schools where kids really learn. If the kids don't learn, the school is shut down. It goes out of business. Public schools where kids don't learn of course are never shut down.

Charter schools were established in North Carolina during a brief period ('94-'95) when Republicans were in control of the state assembly, but they couldn't get legislation through providing for more than 100 charter schools for the entire state.

It's been a dozen years since then, so one might think that with the unprecedented growth in population, the Legislature would increase the charter school 100 limitation.

However with the Democrats in control that will not happen. Democrats like the heavy hand of government in everything, especially the school system. Charter schools allow for a modicum of parental choice, but Democrats insist the state knows better than parents where and how their children should be educated.

Bryan AleksichHorse Shoe

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